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Lugano University City

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Lugano Città Universitaria: a union of forces and intentions for academic excellence and cultural growth

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  • The City of Lugano together with the University of Italian Switzerland (USI), the Professional University School of Italian Switzerland (SUPSI) and Franklin University Switzerland (FUS) is pleased to announce a series of significant goals achieved in the context of the “Lugano Città Universitaria” project. Launched at the end of 2021, this ambitious project aims to consolidate Lugano's role as a leading university hub at local, national and international levels.

    This project not only strengthens the link between the City and the academic world, but it also promotes Lugano as a center of educational, cultural and research excellence, contributing significantly to its socio-economic development. From 2017, when the City Council drafted for the first time the strategic document Development Lines 2018-2028, until the first significant update in 2021, important steps have been taken towards realizing the vision of Lugano as a university center of excellence.
  • The Lugano Città Universitaria project included in the Development Lines in 2021 is divided into five macro-areas of intervention, designed to support local universities and collaborate closely with them, in order to realize the city's university vocation.
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These initiatives, carried out in close collaboration between the City and the academic world represented by USI, SUPSI and FUS, testify to an unprecedented unity of purpose, the joint commitment to the goal of making Lugano a recognized and appreciated university center; a place where education, research and innovation go hand in hand with quality of life and social inclusion.
  • Michele Foletti, Mayor of the City of Lugano‍
    • The Mayor of Lugano, Michele Foletti: “the Lugano Città Universitaria project concretizes the commitment put in place by the City in recent years to consolidate support for local universities and promote Lugano as an attractive university hub at national and international levels. The ability to ensure a quality training offer, but also to attract essential skills and resources for the transfer and sharing of knowledge and the development of the economy, for the benefit of innovation, is an essential investment for the future of our young people. I thank the management of USI, SUPSI and Franklin University Switzerland for believing in this project, which, I am sure, will continue to be enriched with new initiatives for the benefit of the entire community.”
  • Luisa Lambertini, Rector of the University of Italian Switzerland (USI)
    • ‍The Rector of USI, Luisa Lambertini: “We are very satisfied with the collaboration with the City of Lugano and with what has been achieved in the last four years. In the coming years, we intend to further develop the concept of a university campus in a university city. We aim to transform our campuses into vibrant centers of life and encounter, open to the community. Implementing the 'Matrix' university residence project would represent a step forward towards this goal, but we are also committed to offering the population on existing campuses an ever wider range of moments of encounter and study. At the same time, we intend to create new spaces dedicated to the active promotion of innovation and technology transfer, fueling growth and development both inside and outside our classrooms.”
  • Franco Gervasoni, Director General of the University School of Italian Switzerland (SUPSI)
    • The Director General of SUPSI, Franco Gervasoni: “Collaboration with the City is fundamental for SUPSI, at different levels. A particularly significant area is that of large infrastructure projects, which have a long-term impact. The Viganello East Campus, built together with USI and inaugurated three years ago, has already shown that it can redevelop a neighborhood, bringing a breath of dynamism and positivity that is an incentive for other investments. These new valuable spaces are a source of well-being, they create relationships and contacts between the academic world and citizens. We also expect an equally positive effect for the next major projects that await us: from the Campus to the Lugano station, whose regulatory plan variant has finally been approved, and for the City of Music in Besso. Strategic projects for SUPSI, for our entire Canton, and for Lugano, a city that has always believed in and actively supported their development.”‍
  • Samuel Martin Barbero, Rector of Franklin University Switzerland (FUS)‍
    • The Rector of FUS, Samuel Martin Barbero: “We are happy to bring our experience as the only accredited university in Switzerland and the United States to the City of Lugano. Our collaboration with the city is intense and a source of satisfaction for both parties, and develops on the axes of art and culture, support for Plan B, and participation in the initiatives of the Lugano Living Lab. Franklin is a citizen of the world, and we want to help bring the world to Lugano, and Lugano around the world.”

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Projects: the five macro-areas and the main goals achieved (2021-2024)

  • Promotion Area
    • a joint commitment to increase the visibility of Lugano as a privileged university destination. The City coordinated a strategic study for the promotion of Lugano as a university destination, which included the creation of an online portal LEARN LUGANO in collaboration with USI, SUPSI and FUS, it can be reached starting from March 7, 2024. The new portal aims to offer future students from local universities and residents a reception and orientation service for life in the city, as well as to promote Lugano as a university city through the digital world. The portal also sees the collaboration with Lugano Region for the contents related to the aspect of living Lugano in free time and Lugano Eventi for the integration of an agenda of university events common to the three universities. The design and development of the site were taken care of by the Ander Group agency.
  • Participation Area‍‍‍
    • Within this thematic area there are initiatives dedicated to the active involvement of students in city life, promoting projects that promote integration and cultural exchange between the academic community and the city. The main goals achieved are:‍

      - Launch of an extracurricular participatory platform to involve young people in the social and cultural fabric of the city called Speakers' corner: this is an initiative entirely dedicated to the enhancement of theses and research carried out by university students, which encourages the creation of connections with local companies and institutions. To start the project, Speakers'corner received funding from the Swiss Digital Administration Office of the Federal Government.

      - Realization of the project Culture and Health, conceived as part of the three-year partnership between the City of Lugano and IBSA Foundation for scientific research. The project is based on a growing body of scientific and clinical evidence, taken by the WHO World Health Organization. Culture and Health was created to promote initiatives and synergies between the world of culture and that of health to improve the quality of life and well-being of people in places of care, culture and in daily life. Among the project actions, we highlight the joint creation with the University of Italian Switzerland (USI) of the first university course in Switzerland of Culture and Health at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, which will be in its fourth edition with the academic year 2024-2025. The course is open to the public and is thematic, it has involved leading international experts in the field as keynote speakers and every year sees the partnership with a different cultural institution in the city.

      - Collaboration protocol signed between the City of Lugano and Franklin University Switzerland for the implementation of study and research projects in the field of cultural management and marketing in support of cultural mediation activities and the enhancement of the city's historical and artistic heritage. As part of the agreement, launched in 2021, workshops have been created on topics related to tourism, digital culture and museums.‍

      - Digital Point:       an experimental project that offers free individual assistance to those who are not familiar with computers, mobile phones, tablets and the internet. Assistance is provided by students enrolled in the Bachelor in Communication Sciences at the Università della Svizzera Italiana who collaborate as digital assistants.

      - Collaboration through the donation of used PCs to eQuID project of the City of Lugano, which aims to collect, regenerate, enhance and distribute used computers from companies and institutions free of charge to citizens and deliver them to citizens who are interested and need to have a computer.

      - Collaboration between the City of Lugano and USI for the use of the fitness gym of the future Sports Center and Events (PSE).

      - In the context of the participation, mention should also be made of the role of Lugano Living Lab, the urban laboratory of the City of Lugano founded in 2018 in partnership with USI, which in recent years has carried out an activity to support studies, research and scientific dissemination in collaboration with universities, especially in the field of digital innovation. Specifically, acting as a use case for applied research projects, also organizing citizenship workshops, dissemination and awareness events, contributing to training in the field of digital innovation and the involvement of the population through surveys and workshops up to the design of new participation experiences.
  • Structures and spaces‍‍
    • Structures and spaces: support for the creation of spaces dedicated to students, such as university residences and meeting places, which facilitate the creation of a cohesive student community and the organization of training and recreational activities.
  • Conference Area
    • the organization of conferences and academic meetings, in collaboration with local universities and various players in the hospitality sector, in order to promote research and innovation and to attract talents and experts from all over the world. In this context, the new Plan B Forum event emerges and the parallel edition, free and open to everyone, called “Palco21”, dedicated to information and awareness of the bitcoin world.
  • Collaborations Area
    • A close and continuous collaboration between the Town Hall and the universities, which has included:

      - the appointment of Robert Bregy, Municipal Secretary of the City of Lugano and head of Lugano Living Lab, as delegate-referent for university issues.

      - Memorandum of Understanding of the City of Lugano and universities relating to the “Lugano Plan” initiative, with the aim of coordinating and maximizing the effectiveness of the initiatives related to this initiative and to blockchain technology. In this context, a training course called “B4B - Blockchain for Business” was launched in 2023, promoted by Città and the 3 universities, aimed at professionals (directors, directors and collaborators of companies operating in the service sector in Ticino) who are interested in learning and developing greater knowledge in the blockchain field to support their business. The first edition of”B4B - Blockchain for Business” took place in spring 2023 and saw the participation of 63 people, including students, entrepreneurs and industry enthusiasts. The second edition of the B4B - Blockchain for Business 2024 program is currently underway, with the possibility of register online by March 31, 2024.

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